June 2019

18th June: Start of Heathrow consultation. Ends 13th September.

20th June: End of the DfT consultation on the Aviation Strategy green paper.

On December 17th the Government published its Aviation Green Paper. This is their proposal for the DfT’s new Aviation Strategy which it wants to finalise and release in the second half of 2019. This will then be UK aviation policy.

The Green Paper sets out proposals for UK aviation policy until 2050.

The consultation started on 17th December, and ends on 11th April 2019

July 2019

August 2019

September 2019

There will be an other Heathrow consultation on its “master plan” in early 2019. Details

And older dates:

The proposed timeline for a 3rd Heathrow runway

Once voted through, the NPS is then deemed to be “designated” (ie. comes into force) by the Transport Secretary. Heathrow is able to begin the formal process of seeking planning permission, which includes further consultation with local communities. That includes having obtained permission to compulsorily purchase properties for demolition.

The DfT’s Caroline Low said: “In a written statement to Parliament on 26th June, the Transport Secretary confirmed that he has designated the NPS, meaning plans for a new runway at Heathrow can move to the next stage of planning. Heathrow will now bring forward detailed proposals for planning consent, for submission to the Planning Inspectorate. As part of this, there will be further consultations with stakeholders and local communities on the details of the scheme design, the associated compensation and mitigation packages and any changes to airspace.”

Any Judicial Reviews had to follow within a six-week period after the approval of the final NPS and could hold up proceedings.

As the runway is considered to be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) through the Planning Act 2008, Heathrow has to submit a development consent order (DCO) to the planning inspectorate. (It is not a normal planning application, via the local authority – but it is considered in relation to the NPS). Heathrow also has to do some pre-application consultation events, before the DCO stage. There would then be a planning inquiry and examination (taking – the DfT hopes – at most 6 months).

Heathrow will be required to complete a number of environmental assessments to support its application for development consent. These include an Environmental Impact Assessment, an Environmental Statement, a Statement on Compliance with the Habitats Directive and a Flood Risk Assessment.

The planning inspector then submits his report to the Secretary of State (within three months); and the Secretary of State considers the report and announces a decision (within 3 months).

The DfT expects the runway planning process to take perhaps 3 years, 2018 – 2021 or 2022. The DfT hope the runway would be operational by some time after 2025 or the late 2020s.

2025 – late 2020’s

New runway operational
Assuming the planning and construction process runs in line with the timetable set out by Heathrow, the new runway is expected to be operational between 2025 and late 2020’s.

Communities will want to ensure that Heathrow is held to the promises it has made. There are a number of commitments that have been made by the airport operator that could become planning obligations, such as a ban on scheduled night flights and compliance with noise targets.

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The London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP) which will redesign the whole of the London Terminal Airspace using Performance Based Navigation will be delivered in phases between 2015/16 and 2019.

The FAS (Future Airspace Strategy) will probably be consulted on in 2022 and finalised in 2024.

Weds 28th Feb. Hillingdon Council Leader Ray Puddifoot will be the guest speaker at the first meeting, which will take place at St Mary’s Church Hall in Harmondsworth from 8-9.30pm. The meeting has been arranged by the Harmondsworth and Sipson Resident’s Association (HASRA) with SHE (Stop Heathrow Expansion) and is aimed at residents from the villages – including Longford, which would be totally destroyed if the third runway development went ahead. Details

March 2018

Thursday 1st March 2018 Heathrow Public Meeting at 7pm – Community Church, Werter Road, Putney. Justine is holding a joint public meeting with the Richmond Park MP, Zac Goldsmith, on Heathrow Airport’s consultation and its latest plans for expansion. The Leader of Wandsworth Council, Councillor Ravi Govindia will also speak at the meeting. Details

Friday 2nd March 2018. John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, will be the guest speaker at the meeting at Yiewsley and West Drayton Community Centre from 7.30pm-9pm. Everyone is welcome and it’s a chance to ask questions before the Heathrow Consultation closes at the end of March. West Drayton would feel some of the harshest impacts of a third runway, with much busier local roads, higher air pollution and not to mention the level of disruption during construction. This meeting with be a chance to discuss these impacts. Details

28th March 2018. End of Heathrow consultations, that started on 17th January.

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April 2018

May 2018

June 2018

7th June: A parliamentary debate on the Commons Transport Select Committee report on the draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) – ie. the plans for a 3rd Heathrow runway – has been scheduled for Thursday 7th June at 1.30pm in Westminster Hall

There is normally, but does not have to be, a debate on the report of a Select Committee.

The Transport Committee, chaired by Lilian Greenwood, produced their report on the draft NPS on 23rd March. While it supported the principle of building another runway, the committee insisted there should be a range of strict conditions that would have to be met.

The government will, in due course, respond to the Transport Committee’s report. However, this may not happen until there is a vote by Parliament on the draft NPS. The government is aware that there are numerous serious problems with the Heathrow runway plans, and that meeting the conditions proposed by the Transport Committee would be very difficult.

Parliament voted in favour of the 3rd runway plan:

Monday 25th June. Short 4 hour debate in Parliament on the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), and Vote. Parliament voted in favour of the 3rd runway (415 against, 119 in favour, a majority of 296). Details of how each MP voted here More on the story here

July 2018

Party conference season:

TUC conference – 10th until 13th September

Lib Dem Party Conference – 16th until 19th September

Labour Party Conference – 24th until 27th September

Conservative Party Conference – 1st until 4th October

SNP Party conference – 6th until 9th October

October 2018.

18th October. Start of Gatwick consultation on its master plan, to use its emergency runway as a 2nd runway. Details.

December 2018

Start of consultation on Government’s Aviation Strategy, for 3 – 4 months. Expected mid December. That will then be followed by it becoming an Aviation White Paper by perhaps mid 2019.

For reference, dates in 2017

2017

January 2017

19th – 20th January – Hearing in the High Court in London about the legal challenge brought by 4 councils and Greenpeace on the DfT backing for Heathrow 3rd runway. Ruling at an unknown date. Details

20th January – second reading of Tania Mathias’ 10 Minute Rule Bill, to get aircraft noise made a statutory nuisance, is on 20th January. The video of the debate in Parliament where Tania Mathias called for the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to be amended to make noise caused by aircraft a statutory nuisance received it first https://youtu.be/PgXtYadPStw. The bill is unlikely to become law but it is an excellent way of raising the special treatment aircraft noise gets.

25th January – end of NICE consultation on outdoor air quality and health. Link

30th January – first meeting of new group against Heathrow 3rd runway, in Hammersmith and Fulham. Details

End January – or early February – Publication by the DfT of the draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Heathrow. Expected 4 months consultation

February 2017

2nd February – Publication by the DfT of the draft “Airports National Policy Statement: new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South East of England”. ie. on Heathrow runway. 16 week consultation Ends 25th May 2017. Consultation document

2nd February – Publication by the DfT of their Airspace Policy consultation. Ends 25th May 2017. Details

For details of the DfT consultation events on the National Policy Statement on the Heathrow runway, see below.

For details of consultation events held by the DfT (where they promote the runway to the public, and have little information on any negative impacts) see here for dates, times and venues. There are 20 events between 13th Feb and 15th March in areas close to Heathrow, and 13 events across the country.

March 2017

24th March – deadline to submit evidence to Transport Committee inquiry into the Airports NPS. Details

31st March – meeting in Englefield Green with Philip Hammond (the Chancellor) on Heathrow. Details.

April 2017

3rd April – Grow Heathrow in court, for possible eviction from their premises. Support outside the High Court in The Strand, WC2A 2LL 9 – 11am. Details

24th April – The High Court has ordered the Government to publish a draft new clean air plan to tackle NO2 by 24 April, with a final plan by 31 July.

28th April – PUBLIC MEETING on the draft NPS. FRI 28TH APRIL. Teddington Baptist Church 7.30pm. TAG and MP Tania Mathias will provide practical steps in responding to the current Gov proposals.

May 2017

12th May – deadline for submission of evidence to the EFRA (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Committee for the joint inquiry by 4 committees (EFRA, Transport, Health and EAC) into “Improving air quality.” Details

25th May – end of DfT consultation on “Airports National Policy Statement: new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South East of England”. ie. on Heathrow runway. 16 week consultation Ends 25th May 2017. Consultation document

25th May – Publication by the DfT of their Airspace Policy consultation. Ends 25th May 2017. Details

Purdah period for General Elecction begins – 21st April

Dissolution of Parliament – 3rd May

Local Elections – 4th May

Party Manifestos expected to be published – Week commencing 8th May

The election means that any current inquiries not completed (such as the Transport Committee one on the draft NPS) have been paused. It will be up to the members of the new Transport Select Committee if they wish to pick up this inquiry and continue with it.

June 2017

15th June – end of DEFRA consultation on draft plan to reduce NO2 air pollution. Consultation document here. Other DEFRA documents here. Online response form here.

30th June – end of CAA consultation on draft airspace design guidance. link

General Election and some related dates in relation to the new parliament

General Election – 8th June

1st possible date of new Parliament – 14th June

1st possible date of State Opening – 21st June

Possible date for ballots of election of Select Committee Chairs – 13th July

Summer Recess – 20th July

After a General Election, every All Party Parliamentary Group needs to hold an AGM to formally reconstitute the Group.

July 2017

31st July – The High Court has ordered the Government to publish a draft new clean air plan to tackle NO2 by 24 April, with a final plan by 31 July.

More aviation consultations later in the year:

Chris Grayling said (letter to EAC on 9th January) that: “We have begun work on an Aviation Strategy to replace the 2013 Aviation Policy Framework and this will include a more detailed consideration of available policy measures to address the climate change impacts of aviation. We look forward to publishing a series of green papers this year as part of this process.”

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

Parliament Returns from Summer Recess – 5th September

Parliament in Recess for conferences – 15th September

Party conferences

Parliament Returns – 10th October

November 2017

30th November. End of period to submit evidence to the Transport Committee

December 2017

4th December. Oral evidence session by the Transport Select Committee. Transport Committee will begin its inquiry into the Airports NPS next Monday, 4 December, at 4.45pm.

For reference, dates in 2016

January 2016

Monday 18th January: – start of trial of 13 Plane Stupid activists who invaded the northern Heathrow runway on 13th July 2015. Due to last perhaps two weeks. At Willesden Magistrates court. Details.

28th January: Publication of the independent review of changes in 2014 of Gatwick arrivals flight paths, by Bo Redeborn and Graham Lake.

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February 2016

11th Feb: Parliament rises

19th Feb. End of CAA consultation on its 5 year strategic plan. Details Andguidance from TAG(Teddington Action Group) on how to fill in the online response form.

22nd Feb. Parliament returns

22nd Feb. Protest by CHATR in Chiswick

Feb 23rd – Two big aviation conferences are being held in London: The Air Transport Conference, 2016; and The Global Aviation Development Summit.

Weds 24th Feb – the “Heathrow 13” who occupied the end of Heathrow’s northern runway in July 15th, are to be sentenced. They may get up to 3 months in prison. 9am protest outside Willesden Magistrates Court. 448 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2DZ. (Nearest tube is Neasden, on the Jubilee line). Details.

Feb – Heathrow and Enterprise Nation do a survey about impact of Heathrow 3rd runway on SMEs.

April – date unknown – report by Heathrow and Enterprise Nation on impact of Heathrow 3rd runway on SMEs.

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May 2016

Thurs 5th May: London Mayoral Election (and some others across the UK)

Sunday 8th May: Going Backwards on Climate Change – march (backwards) down Whitehall, to mark the first anniversary of the Conservative government, which has gone backwards on many policies relating to climate. Building a new runway being one of those. DetailsIt is anticipated that there will be an aviation presence at the march.

16th May: End of Gatwick consultation on the reply by Gatwick airport on 31st March to the Arrivals Review by Bo Redeborn and Graham Lake. Details

Weds 18th May: Queen’s Speech

18th May: Heathrow Community Noise Forum

19th May: Heathrow Noise Forum

Thurs 19th May: “Grow Heathrow” are under threat of eviction. Lewdown Holdings Limited (who own most of the land Grow Heathrow is on) are attempting to get a possession order
Supporters gathering from 9:00am outside Uxbridge County Court. This is not the Uxbridge court where Plane Stupid appeared. Address: 501 Uxbridge Road, Hayes, UB4 8HL.

July 2016

?Around 18th July?? Patrick McLoughlin is due to make a statement to Parliament on the government’s decision on a new runway. Should be at least a few days before Parliament rises, (ie. several days before 21st) to give MPs etc time to question etc. Or it could be in the 10 days Parliament is working 5th to 15th September.

21st July: Parliament rises for the summer recess.

Summer 2016

The Department for Transport will hold a formal consultation on changes to the noise elements of the Aviation Policy Framework, and the principles behind changes to flight paths – some time in /after summer 2016, “to coincide with a further announcement on runway capacity in the south east” ie. after a runway decision. In 2nd half of 2016.

August 2016

September 2016

5th September – Parliament returns, till 15th when the Party Conference season starts. (If no runway decision has been announced in July by the government, it is just possible it could be during this period. But unlikely). [It was not]

12th Sept: End of consultation by Edinburgh airport on changes to flight paths (first stage). Details

April 2015

May 2015

Some time after the election, Airports Commission announces its recommendation on new runway to the new government. Date unknown.

June 2015

Airports Commission likely to make its recommendation by the end of the month, before Sir Howard goes to RBS. Date unknown.

10th June: End of EU consultation on Aviation package for improving the competitiveness of the EU Aviation sector. Started in March. Details.

30th June: Meeting Carbon Budgets: 2015 Progress Report to Parliament by the Committee on Climate Change. This is the CCC’s seventh statutory report to Parliament on progress towards meeting carbon budgets. In it we will consider the latest data on emissions and their drivers. http://www.theccc.org.uk/media-centre/coming-up/

July 2015

6-7th July: Runways UK conference in London, to discuss the Airports Commission recommendation (which they presume will have been made). Details

11 – 12th July. Annual 2 day protest at Notre Dame des Landes, against the proposed new airport for Nantes.

28th November: Greg Clark (MP for Tunbridge Wells) will be chairing a public meeting with the team leading Gatwick’s independent review at 10am in the Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. DetailsBooking beforehand necessary.

December 2015

24th December: Edinburgh flight path trial due to end (started in June) if it does not end earlier. Details.

31st December 2015 The CCC will publish its recommendations for 5th carbon budget, covering the period 2028-32, as required by Climate Change Act. This budget covers the symbolically important year of 2030 by which time we need to be very firmly on the path to the agreed 2050 target. The Government will propose legislation for the 5th budget in Summer 2016. http://www.theccc.org.uk/ http://www.theccc.org.uk/media-centre/coming-up/

Further ahead or unknown dates:

East Midlands Airport: East Midlands Airport runway extension determination – and may be approved without noise controls being part of a section 106 agreement. Also the local council has requested EMA to be designated under 78 of the 1982 CAA Act but this may be rejected. All postponed from 3rd March 2010 “for several months”.

Prestwick: The final version of the Glasgow Prestwick Airport Master Plan will be published at some time, but it is very much delayed. Draft Master Plan was in 2008.

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4th July 2016: Seminar on Aircraft Noise and Mental Health

3.00 – 4:30pm; Room Q in Portcullis House, Westminster*

Chair: Dr Tania Mathias MP

Speakers:

Dirk Schreckenberg, Senior Researcher, Centre for applied psychology, environmental and social science in Hagen, Germany, will explain the key findings of the NORAH study on noise and mental health

Chris Keady will talk about the impact on his mental health of living under the Heathrow flight paths and suggest practical solutions

Matt Gorman, Sustainability Director at Heathrow Airport, will outline the steps Heathrow is taking to provide respite from aicraft noise

There is growing concern about the impact on mental health of aircraft noise. However, there is comparatively little research on the topic. We are therefore delighted that the keynote speaker will be Dirk Schreckenberg, one of the authors of the NORAH Study, a recent German study which included ground-breaking work on mental health and noise http://www.laermstudie.de/en/

There will be music, a few speeches, refreshments and a chance to walk part of the route of the proposed new runway.

And everybody is encouraged to bring a birthday present for Heathrow which will be kept safe overnight and delivered to them on their official birthday the next day.

We are hoping this will be a fun Bank Holiday event but with a serious purpose, the day before Heathrow’s official birthday. It is also probably the last chance to have an event for a while as the news in June and July is likely to be dominated by the referendum. Heathrow Airport knows that also and is expecting its 70th birthday to generate a lot of media coverage. It means we can interest the media in this event. If you have nothing planned for the Bank holiday, you are encouraged to join us as the more people who attend, the more powerful the signal that there is considerable opposition to a 3rd runway.

* There is some parking available in the area. The U3 and 350 buses stop just a short walk away.

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Regular dates:

CAA release provisional statistics for the previous month for UK airports around 15th of each month.

Heathrow Ltd (used to be called BAA) produce the previous month’s figures for their UK airports, (some time approx between 10th and 15th of each month).

IATA produce previous month’s figures for the global aviation industry around the 27th of each month.

2014

For reference, dates in 2014

January 2014

16th January: start of Airports Commission’s consultation (end date not known) on their draft Appraisal Framework, for the impacts of schemes will be appraised and how scheme designs should be developed.

21st January. End of NATS consultation on airspace around Gatwick, London City airport, Southend and Biggin Hill. Details

21st January: end of NATS consultation on airspace around Gatwick, London City airport, Southend and Biggin Hill. Details

25-29 March 2014 The IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s) Fifth Assessment Report WG II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability will be published Detailsttp://www.ipcc.ch/

End of March: Goverment will give its response to the Airports Commission Interim Report (perhaps with a comment on recommendation of a new independent noise authority, probably only in an advisory capacity.

31st March: 2nd IPPC report on impacts of climate change. Summary for Policymakers of the second part of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report Details.

March or April – DfT has said it will respond to the Airports Commission’s short-term suggestions

25th July – end of Airports Commission consultation on its discussion paper on the role of the regional airports. Details

10th July – Airports Commission carrying out 4 studies to assess the feasibility of
the Inner Estuary Hub concept (one on surface transport). Final studies will be published for comment in July. link First report, on Environmental Impacts, published on 4th July.

August 2014

8th August – End of consultation period for comment on the Airports Commission paper on Environmental Impacts of a Thames estuary airport. Details.

15th August – end of Airports Commission call for evidence on delivery of new runway capacity. Details

Mid – 2014 – Airports Commission will decide if a Thames Estuary runway option, at the Isle of Grain, should be given more consideration in the second half of the year. Their interim report said (seems like an afterthought):”If a decision is reached that it should, it will be subject to similar appraisal and consultation processes as the short-listed options, although not necessarily to the same timescale.”

September 2014

2nd – Commission announced its decision not to short list a Thames Estuary airport

13th October: Public meeting to be held at the Pavillion on Ascot racecourse at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) about Heathrow flight path trialDetails

Oct 2014 – the Airports Commission will publish the “refreshed” scheme designs for the three runway proposals (Heathrow north west option; Heathrow western extension of north runway; Gatwick southern runway). And a consultation would start, on these schemes, lasting perhaps till December.

31st October 2014 – end of consultation by GLA (Greater London Authority) on their Infrastructure Plan for London till 2050. Boris Johnson still pushing his aspiration of a 4 runway airport in the Thames Estuary. Link

November 2014

7th – end of Stansted airport consultation on its draft SDP (Sustainable Development Plan). Details